


Getting By

by KyeAbove



Series: The Reinforcement Of Agony AU [39]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-13 20:39:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14755928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KyeAbove/pseuds/KyeAbove
Summary: December 6th, 1933. Cade Vale, New York. Agony:ConsumingIt's been some weeks since Henry quit, and Joey only gets worse, even though no one is really sure how much he's hiding. Some days, he was better. This was not one of those days.





	Getting By

~December 6th, 1933~

* * *

 

“Mister Drew?”

Joey’s office was a mess, and the smell of ink, spilled, drifted in every breath. It made Abby feel a little sick, but she stepped fully into the room, and closed the door behind her.

Her boss was sitting at his desk, staring blankly at the dented wood. Joey didn’t say anything of her arrival. It was like she wasn’t even there.

“Mister Drew,” Abby repeated, shifting the papers in her arms. “I've got something for you.”

Blankly, Joey looked up at her. His eyes had lost their light and their mischief. There was no recognition in them either, but Abby didn’t expect that Joey would remember every single employee at the studio.

“What is it?” Joey asked, his tone dead. Abby was sure if there was any tone to his voice, it would be anger. She’d probably interrupted something, even if it was bitter. It was clear she had. But she pushed on. Abby was used to being considered not worth someone’s time.

“I have the corrections for the scripts finished. I thought I’d bring them by you before giving them to the animators.” When Joey didn’t say anything, Abby coughed, and walked briskly to his desk. Joey snatched the papers from her hands before she could place them down.

After a few moments, only skimming the first page, Joey ripped the papers in half, and tossed them to the side, leaving Abby slack jawed.

“Hey!” Abby snapped, slapping at Joey’s hand. “Why would you do that?! We’re already behind!” Quieter, she asked, “What did I do wrong?”

“Nothing. It would have been just fine. But pointless.” Joey said, his voice almost just as flat as before. There was a slight wobble to it. “We’re losing money. People don’t want Bendy anymore.”

“Why not? Bendy is precious! All the children I know adore him!”

“That’s what Henry said…”

Joey’s mask broke. He was crying now, and while he tried to wipe away the tears, not wanting to appear weak in front of someone else, the tears wouldn’t stop.

“Mister Drew...Joey...I..” Abby was flustered. She rarely knew what to do or say in these situations without making things worse. Nothing came to mind how she could comfort Joey right now, if he would even let her. No one had been able to properly deal with Joey’s reactions to Henry leaving, and there was no way she'd be the first one to break through his sadness.

Some days, Joey was alright. Other days, like today it seemed, there was nothing anyone could do.

Abby liked Joey. While others would complain about him, she figured it was a consequence of their jobs. Whereas others found Joey unreasonable, compared to what she could be doing with her life, her job was pleasant. She was thankful for Joey giving her that.

“Leave.” Joey demanded with a softer tone than Abby would have thought possible. She wasn’t going to ignore this demand, even if there was more she figured she could say, if she could only find the words.

“Certainly. I’ll talk to the animators about this.” Abby wasn’t even going to bother collecting the ripped papers. It might only anger Joey more. But she did pull out some other papers. She placed the bills on Joey’s desk. “I got that from my sister, but I don’t need it. Buy yourself something nice. Fake happiness is better than none at all. I know that far too well.”

Abby cursed herself for how bad that sounded, but it was said and done.

She turned around, and walked to the door, meaning to get out as quickly as she could. She turned the knob and made her leave.

Abby’s leaving would have been silent, aside from Joey’s sniffling, had Joey not uttered a quiet, unneeded _'thank you'_ as Abby closed the door behind her.

Joey was her boss, but maybe in another life he could have been her friend too.


End file.
